Horror at the Controls · Part 10
Possession, virtual reality, and a game that survived under another name. A frightening noise comes from behind you. On a television, turning toward it means moving a camera. In virtual reality, it means…
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From the jungle to the concrete: when the hunter became the player. The soldiers have weapons, training, and confidence. Then something starts watching them from the trees, and the familiar action movie…
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Trust, paranoia, and the horror of a negative blood test. You have tested your companion. The result says human. A few moments later, something bursts out of the person standing beside you. That can be a…
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From the Nostromo to Isolation: when the scariest thing in the room became the rules. A motion tracker is useful until it tells you something you would rather not know. That is the problem at the heart of…
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Ash Williams, Deadites, and the art of turning panic into slapstick. There are several reasonable responses to finding an ominous book in an isolated cabin. Reading its associated incantations aloud is not…
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Leatherface, the family, and a very different kind of multiplayer nightmare. A chainsaw is a weapon, a warning, and a deadline. You hear it before you know exactly where it is. Once you do know, you may…
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Michael Myers, the Atari 2600, and the danger across the street. An ordinary house. A quiet sidewalk. Someone standing still at the edge of your vision. Michael Myers does not need an alien planet or a dream…
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When sleep became the enemy. A locked door might keep a slasher outside. A boat might carry you away from a shark. Freddy Krueger presents a less convenient problem: sooner or later, everyone has to sleep.…
Read articleHorror at the Controls · Part 2
Jason Voorhees and the evolution of interactive slasher horror. You have found the battery. Someone else has the keys. The car is almost repaired, the woods have gone quiet, and your friend has just asked a…
Read articleHorror at the Controls · Part 1
From summer blockbuster to playable predator. One shark. Four theatrical films. Decades of games trying to decide whether you should fear the water—or become the reason everyone else does. That is the strange…
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